My present invention relates to an apparatus for the storage of dough products in a fermentation chamber, especially for the production of bread, rolls and other yeast-containing or risable dough products which, as part of the production process, usually require storage for a predetermined time period in a fermentation chamber prior to baking. More particularly the invention relates to a storage facility of this type in which the dough products are placed upon horizontal pallets which can be disposed one above another in superposed planes.
It is known to store dough products, for example for bread, rolls and other rising bakery items, usually made with yeast, on displaceable multilevel racks which can be inserted into a fermentation chamber and such that the dough products lie on pallets at the respective levels or forming the respective tiers of the multitier rack. It is also known to displace dough products on conveyor belts through a fermentation chamber. In the first case, considerable work is involved in moving around the racks and in the second case the conveyor apparatus can be complex and expensive and can require significant amounts of space for a given output of the system.
It is, therefore, the principal object of the present invention to provide an improved apparatus for the storage of dough products for a limited period of time in a fermentation chamber which has technically inexpensive apparatus, has more efficient utilization of space and requires significantly less manpower than earlier systems.
Another object of the invention is to provide an improved apparatus for the storage of dough products in a fermentation chamber which is more reliable and less costly than earlier systems and which requires less floor space or has a smaller footprint than some earlier systems.
It is also an object of the invention to obviate drawbacks of earlier systems for the storage of dough products in a fermentation chamber.
These objects and others which will become apparent hereinafter are attained, in accordance with the invention which provides a plurality of cabinet sections each with a multiplicity of pallets disposed one above the other and adapted to receive the dough products, the pallets being horizontally shiftable in their respective cabinets and the pallets being so closely juxtaposed, i.e. substantially contiguous in each plane, so that a shifting of the pallets in a given plane at the charging side of the apparatus will result in a horizontal shift of all of the pallets in that plane to transfer a pallet at the discharge side of the system to a discharge means. With such an apparatus, the loading device or means at the upstream side of the row of cabinets can insert a pallet or tray loaded with dough products into the first cabinet or rack, thereby shifting the pallet previously therein and all other pallets in the same horizontal plane toward the downstream end where the pallets from the last cabinet or rack are deposited on the discharge means which enables the pallet to be carried away.
With this apparatus, therefore, the insertion of a pallet or tray at the upstream side in one plane shifts all of the pallet in this plane and discharges a pallet at the discharge side. This is accomplished without conveyor belts and without manual intervention between the ends of the system.
It has been found to be advantageous in each of the cabinet sections to provide a plurality of pallets or trays in stacked relationship, i.e. one above the other, so that each of the pallets or trays can be shifted horizontally. The several cabinet sections or racks should then be particularly close together so that each pallet can bear upon the next between the upstream and downstream sides. The cabinet or rack sections are also provided close together so that the guides for the pallets in each plane can be flush with each other.
It has been found to be advantageous to provide at the charging side of the system and at the discharge side of the system respective elevator arrangements for loading the pallets onto the respective planes and receiving the pallets from the respective planes. The elevators can vertically shift the pallet and align them in the guides for the respective planes. The pallets can also be returned from the discharge side to the charging side without an additional conveyor belt by providing a space below the stack of pallets in the racks or cabinets for enabling the pallets to push one another from the discharge side to the charging side, thereby again doing without a conveyor belt. An empty pallet thus emerges from the return path at the charge side and can be reloaded with the dough products for insertion into the fermentation chamber.